Article that is useful for treating feet



Aug. 28, 1951 BIRKLE 2,565,751

ARTICLES THAT ARE USEFUL FOR TREATING FEET Filed June 26, 1948 PatentedAug. 28, f 1951 ARTICLE THAT is UsEi UL FoR TREATING FEET I EdwardBirklefSt. Louis, Mo. Applicatibn June 26, 1948, Serial No;-3'5 ,443

This invention relates to improvements in articles that are useful fortreating feet. More particularly this invention relates to an improvedboot that can be used in the treatment of sore or tired feet.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved boot that can be used in treating sore or tired feet.

In the treatment of sore or tired feet, it is oftentimes desirable tosoak or bathe the feet in medicated or other solutions, the bathing orsoaking of the feet acting to soften the skin of the feet and to easethe aches and pains in the feet. It is quite customary touse tubs orbasins to confine the solutions and to receive the feet, but the, use ofsuch tubs or basins is not free from objections. For example, the tubsorbasins force the user to accept immobility during the time the feet arebeing treated. In-addition, the tubs or basins permit drafts of air tostrike those portions of the feet or legs which, while not intended tobe immersed in the solution, become wet during the bathing or soaking;and those drafts on those portions of the feet or legs can cause colds.Moreover, tubs or basins are not always readily available, particularlywhere the person desiring treatment is away from home or is in a roominghouse or hotel. For these and other reasons the use of tubs or basins inthe treatment of feet is objectionable. The present invention obviatesthese objections by providing a boot which confines the solution aroundthe users foot, and thus permits the user to walk about and to be freeof drafts while the foot is being treated. It is there fore an object ofthe present invention to provide a boot which confines quantities ofsolution around the users foot.

Where basins or tubs are used to treat feet, the volume of solutionrequired is quite large and thus the quantity of medicine or othersolute can be quite high. Where the cost of the medicine or other soluteis sizable, the excess quantities of medicine or other solute requiredwith the tubs quantity of medicine or other's'olute required for thetreatment of the users foot.

Prior methods of treating-the feet by immersing them in solutions heldin tubs or basins required the person to be immobile during the 2Claims. (01. 1.28 260;

" treatment. The present invention obviates such immobility by makingthe boot of stout enough material to make it possible for the wearer tow'a'lk around. Moreover the boot has a closure at the top thereof whichconfines the solution against escape, thus enablin the user to moveabout freely. It is therefore an object of the present invention toprovide a boot which is of terior of the boot, and then air can bepassed into or through. the boot to dry the solvent and sweep out anyresidual odors. In this way, the boot can be kept thoroughly clean. Itis therefore an object of the present invention to provide a boot withan opening adjacent the front thereof and a removable cover for saidopening.

The opening adjacent the front of the boot serves an additional purpose,in that it permits the medicine or other solute to be introduceddirectly into the solvent within the boot. Where medicine or othersolute has to be poured intov the top of the boot, the medicine or othersolute may stick or otherwise adhere to the inner surface of the boot,and thus be brought into contact, in its undiluted form, with the legofthe user. Depending on the nature and strength of the medicine or othersolute, a rash or other surface effect may appear on the skin of thusers leg. All of this is avoided where the medicine or other solute isintroduced through the opening adjacent the front of the boot since themedicine or other solute will immediately strike the solvent within theboot and be dissolved. It is therefore an object of the presentinvention toprovide a boot with an opening adjacent the front thereof tofacilitate introduction of medicine or other solute.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention shouldbecome apparent from an examination of the drawing and accompanyingdescription.

In the drawing and accompanying de'scriptiona preferred embodiment ofthe present invention is shown and described but it is to be understood;that the drawing and accompanying description Fig. 3 is an enlarged,cross sectional view of another modified form of removable cover for theopening adjacent the front of the boot in Fig.

and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the top of the boot shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detaiL'the numeral I denotes thefoot-encasing portion of a boot which is made in accordance with theprinciples and teachings of the present invention. That boot ispreferably made of a stout material which is stiff enough to retain itsform but is pliable enough to be worn without discomfort. One suchmaterial is rubber, another is artificial rubber, and still another isthe group of relatively stiff plastic materials used for confiningliquids. The foot-encasing portion I0 of the boot is preferably madeappreciably larger than the foot of the user; and it is preferably madewithout seams through which liquids can pass. The front portion of thefoot-encasing portion II] is high enough so the toes of the user willnot under ordinary circumstances touch the under surface of the top ofthe foot-encasing portion Ill. This arrangement provides free movementof the toes and front portion of the users feet without any necessity ofcontact with the interior of the boot. The bottom of the foot-encasingportion In of the boot has a curved section I2 which rises upwardly andfits under the arch of the users foot, thus tending to give support tothe users arch.

The boot has a leg-encasing portion I4 which is disposed forwardly ofthe rear edge of the foot-encasing portion; and the portion I4 fits theleg rather closely. Such an arrangement enables the foot itself toremain out of contact with the front, sides and rear of thefoot-encasing portion I0, and yet avoids shifting of the foot-encasingportion I0 relative to the users foot. Consequently, stubbing of thetoes and chafing of the feet are both avoided. The le encasing portionI4 will tend to fit rather closely around the users leg; and in doingso, it centers the foot-encasing portion II] relative to the users footand enables liquids, confined within the foot-encasing portion ID, tocontact the front, sides, rear, and top of the users foot.

The leg-encasing portion I4 is provided with a perforated projection IBat the top rear thereof; and the perforation in this projectionfacilitates hanging of the boot when it is not in use, and it alsofacilitates hanging of the boot when it is used as a syringe fordistributing fluid under pressure. For the latter purpose, a suitabletube, not shown, can be connected to the opening, defined by interiorlythreaded projection 28, at the front of the boot, and can be used toconduct and direct fluid that flows from the opening.

The leg-encasing portion I4 is provided with tworings I8, which ringsare preferably formed integrally with the boot. The rings I8 are spacedapart a distance sufficient to accommodate a narrow, adjustable strap20. This strap has a 4 buckle, and it has openings in the free endthereof which receive the tongue of the buckle. The rings I8 confine thestrap against shifting upwardly and downwardly, and the strap 20 can bepulled tight to maintain a liquid-tight connection between theleg-encasing portions I4 and the users leg. If the strap 20 is misplacedor lost, a short length of twine, a shoe string, or other fastener couldbe substituted for the strap 20; and in each instance the rings I8 willmaintain the fastener in position against vertical displacement.

The leg-encasing portion I4 of the boot is provided with a V-shapedpouring fold 22 at the forward upper edge thereof. This V-shaped pouringfold can be used for the introduction of solvent or solute into theboot, and it can also i be used for pouring the contents out of theboot. When the pouring fold 22 is to be used, it is extended forwardlyas shown in Figs. 1 and 4; and in such position the fold 22 forms anatural opening into which the solute and solvent can easily beintroduced- When the fold 22 is not to be used, the two edges of thefold are first pressed together, and then they are folded against thatside 'of the leg-encasing portion I4 which carries the male snapfasteners 26. These snap fasteners receive and tightly hold the femalesnap fastener 24 which is supported on an extension of the V-shapedpouring fold 22. The four male snap fasteners 26 are aligned but arespaced slightly apart so securement of the female snap fastener 24 toone of the male snap fasteners 26 can provide the desired adjustment ofthe opening at the top of the boot.

It will be noted that the plurality of male snap fasteners 26 make itpossible to attain a close fit between the top of the leg-encasingportion I4 and the users leg, and that the strap 20 makes it possible toattain a close fit between the intermediate section of the leg-encasingportion I4 and the users leg. This enables the boot to provide firmsecurement of the leg-encasing portion I4 to the users leg at two spacedjoints, thus holding the users foot centered in the foot-encasingportion I0 while avoiding chafing of the leg or foot.

Adjacent the front of the foot-encasing portion II] of the boot, aninteriorly threaded pro-' jection 28 is provided. This projectionsurrounds an opening which communicates directly with the foot-encasingportion In of the boot. The interior threads of the projection 28 canselectively receive removable cover 30, removable cover 32, or removablecover 34. The removable cover 30 is hollow, and it has rings 3| on theinterior thereof, which rings can be used as measuring rings to indicatethe volume ofmedicine or solute to be introduced into the solvent withinthe boot. Medicine or other solute can be poured into the cover 30 andthen poured into the boot. The cover 30 is provided with externalthreads, and those threads make it possible to releasabl secure theremovable cover 30 to the projection 28. When so secured, the removablecover 30 will serve to confine liquid contents within the boot.

The removable cover 32 is hollow and has a screen 33 as the top thereof.The threads on the exterior of cover 32 facilitate its securement toprojection 28. The screen 33 permits the boot to be worn while the useris swimming or wading; and this can be helpful if it is desirable forthe user to treat his foot with salt or fresh water will thus avoid theunnatural buoyancy a sealed boot would give to the users foot. Whenequipped with the cover 32, the boot of the present invention can beused by swimmers and waders whose feet are not sore or tired but who arefearful of sting rays, nettles, snakes, saw grass, or sea Weed.

The closure 34 is in the form. of an imperforate plug; and it can bethreaded for threading into projection 28, or it can be forced into thethreads of that projection. One material of which the cover 34 canreadily be made is cork; an ordinary cork stopper being usable for thepurpose. Such a cover, like cover 30, is removable to permit insertionof the medicine or other solute into the boot and is replacable toconfine the resulting solution around the foot.

It will be noted that while the space around the users foot is ample topermit free and unrestricted movement of the foot, the actual Volume ofsolution within the foot-encasing portion H] of the boot is quite small.This of course, is highly desirable because it reduces to the veryminimum the amount of medicine or other solute which must be added tothe solvent. With this arrangement, the foot is in direct and immediatecontact with the solution, the solution is continually held in contactwith the foot even though the user moves about, and the amount ofmedicine or solute required is small. In these respects the boot is farsuperior to articles which hold a quantity of liquid adjacent the usersfoot but do not permit direct contact between the users foot and theliquid.

Any medicine, solute, or solvent can be introduced into the boot throughthe pouring fold 22 or through the threaded projection 28. The solvent,solute, and medicine are preferably introduced into the boot through thethreaded projection 28 since such introduction permits the medicine orsolute to pass directly into the solvent and thus be quickly diluted. Ifthe medicine or solute had to be introduced through the leg-encasingportion I 4, some of the undiluted medicine or solute might adhere tothe interior of such portion and thus be brought into direct contactwith the skin of the users leg.

The threaded projection 28 at the front of the boot permits water orother solvents to be passed continuously through the boot for flushingthe foot. If the passage of quantities of fresh water past the usersfoot were deemed desirable, the user could remove the cover forprojection 28, and introduce water through pouring fold 22,

either by a hose or by a pitcher. In addition, the

opening at the front of the boot permits the passage of water or othersolvents through the boot to clean and sanitize it, .and further permitsthe introduction of air into the boot for purposes of drying same orremoving any residual odors caused by the medicine or solute.

Many difierent kinds of medicines or solutes could be used. For example,soaps of various kinds could be used, mild. acids could be used, andvarious salts could be used. In each instance the boot will confinesolvent, solute and medicine in intimate contact with the users foot.

In addition, the boot is usable in instances where the foot is bandagedor is treated with salves or other medicines. In such instances thecover 36 does not keep liquids in, but instead keeps dirt andcontamination out. The cover 32 is also usable in such instances topermit ready influx and efiiux of air into and out of the boot.

The boot is quite versatile since it permits the user to walk aroundwhile receiving beneficial treatment for his foot, and it can also beused in swimming or wading to protect the foot of the user fromunpleasant contact with vegetable or animal matter. In addition the bootcan be used equally well to apply medicaments or to protect medicamentsalready applied.

Whereas a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shownand described in the drawing and accompanying description it should beapparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made inthe form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof, wheresuch changes fall within the purview of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A boot that has a liquid-tight, foot-encasing portion, a leg-encasingportion, an opening adjacent the front of said boot, and a removablecover for said opening, said cover being a cup.

2. A boot that has a foot-encasing portion, a leg-encasing portion, anopening adjacent the front of said boot, said opening communicatingdirectly with said foot portion, a removable cover for said opening,said cover being a cup with measuring rings therein.

EDWARD BIRKLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 396,945 Michelson Jan. 29, 1889551,939 Weber Dec. 24, 1895 1,980,486 King et al Nov. 13, 1934 2,206,404Jones July 2, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 517,850 GermanyFeb. 10, 1931

